Allied Warships

HMCS Saguenay (D 79)

Destroyer of the A class

NavyThe Royal Canadian Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassA 
PennantD 79 
Built byThornycroft (Southampton, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down27 Sep 1929 
Launched11 Jul 1930 
Commissioned22 May 1931 
End service30 Jul 1945 
History

Heavily damaged in a collision 12 miles off Cape Race, Newfoundland on 15 November 1942 with the merchant ship Azara.
She was escorting convoy WB.13 from Wabans to Sydney, Cape Breton Island.

Used as a training ship after being repaired.
Decommissioned 30 July 1945.

 

Commands listed for HMCS Saguenay (D 79)

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CommanderFromTo
1Lt.Cdr. George Ralph Miles, RCN8 Jul 193921 Apr 1941
2Lt. Philip Edwin Haddon, RCN22 Apr 19417 Apr 1942
3Lt.Cdr. Dickson Carlile Wallace, RCNR8 Apr 194214 Jan 1943
4Lt. John William McDowall, RCN15 Jan 194311 Mar 1943

5T/Lt. George Randle Shane Mathews, RCNVR24 May 194324 Aug 1943
6T/Lt. John Hamilton Ewart, RCNVR24 Aug 194317 May 1944
7T/Lt. Wesley Coburn Hawkins, RCNVR18 May 19446 Oct 1944
8T/A.Lt. William Errol Hughson, RCNVR7 Oct 194415 Apr 1945
9T/Lt. Kenneth Peter Blanche, RCNVR16 Apr 194530 Jul 1945

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Noteable events involving Saguenay include:


23 Oct 1939
The British light cruiser HMS Orion (Capt. H.R.G. Kinahan, RN) and the Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay (Lt.Cdr. G.R. Miles, RCN) intercept the German tanker Emmy Friedrich (4372 GRT) in the Yukatan Strait west of Tampico. When the British light cruiser HMS Caradoc (Capt. E.W.L. Longley-Cook, RN) also arrived on the scene the Germans scuttled their own ship to prevent her capture.

20 Oct 1940
The British merchant Sulaco is torpedoed and sunk about 360 miles west of Rockall in position 57°25'N, 25°00'W by German U-boat U-124. HMCS Saguenay (Cdr. G.R. Miles, RCN) picks up 1 survivor.

21 Oct 1940
HMCS Saguenay (Cdr. G.R. Miles, RCN) picks up 29 survivors from the Norwegian merchant Cubano that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day south-west of Iceland in position 57°55'N, 24°57'W by German U-boat U-124.

1 Dec 1940
Around 0350 hours on 1 December 1940 the Italian submarine Argo (offsite link) torpedoed and damaged the Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay (Cdr. G.R. Miles, RCN) about 300 nautical miles west of Ireland in position 54°40'N, 15°50'W. The bow was blown off and 21 of the crew lost their lives in this attack. HMCS Saguenay was escorting convoy HG-47 at the time. Saguenay was out of service for nearly 6 months (repairs were completed on 22 May 1941). (see map)

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.

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